regarding 'Forum home page' link

[jeffinj]

The navigation links on top starts with Forum home page. I think you should change that and put the name of your forum there (The Church Webmaster's forum). Because when I got the welcome mail, it read like this:


Thanks for registering at Forum home page! We are glad you have chosen to be a part of our community and we hope you enjoy your stay.

All the best,

Forum home page



The variable used are same in both cases. When vB sends birthday greetings or announcements, it will use the same variable again.

[David Gillaspey]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for pointing this out.

One problem is the art at the very top, which already says "The Church Webmasters' Forum." It would look a bit funny to have the home page link, that's located right underneath the logo, say exactly the same thing.

BUT, the welcome email you received, which you quoted in your post ? well, I must say, it doesn't do a very good job of encouraging participation in the forum, does it? So let me think about this matter for a few days. The welcome message surely can be improved.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites
(and forum admin)

[jeffinj]

I also had a problem during registration. The alphabets on the image verification wasn't clear at all. I had to like re-enter atleast five times to finally get it right.

In my forum, the slants can be adjusted so its clearer. :) Welcome email can sometimes do real good if you give instructions for newbies and suggest ways in which a member can contribute and gain from posts. I dont have this on my forum but now im starting to think of all this. :D

[flutem3]

Hi, Jeff,

I was going to register on your forum, but I was not willing to fill out the information which was asked. I have no idea when I was baptized, for example. My grandfather who was minister at our church at the time did it between 64-65 years ago.

The question about when were you saved is just plain intrusive even on a Christian website. It is nobody's business. That is between God and me. Besides that I have no idea. I would guess that many of your 300+ people who gave dates don't know either. I have met very few people in my life who knew the exact instant they were saved. For some people, it is a long process. For a fortunate few, they just know.

I am not certain why that information is necessary anyway. If I tell you I am a Christian, that should be enough. And I would think that you might want people who are not Christians to join in the discussion. How can a person be converted if he/she is not allowed in? Sinners need to be exposed to saints. How are they to learn there is another way? I think most church websites including ours scare away a non-believer. I am trying to figure out how to reach people who do not believe, but I have not come up with anything workable yet. I do not use the word, unchurched, because I think it has a demeaning sound to it...and when people use the word, they frequently mean it in a demeaning way. One meaning of the word, unchurched, is to be thrown out of a congregation.

I had trouble reading the letters too. How many of your people who have signed up regularly participate in the forum? I don't know how many have signed up here, but over time it seems that they get the help they need and vanish.

However, there is a core of people who hang in most of the time. It is kind of like any group or organization. There are a core of people who do the work. Everyone else benefits. Churches are notorious for that...at least ones that I am aware of over the years. It is to bad too. I am certain other people have much to contribute.

If I like a forum, I tend to hang in...even if I cannot contribute too much. I can always be a cheerleader...and the world needs cheerleaders!! I also read all of the posts that come in on all of the topics on this forum and one other. It is a wonderful way to learn...and to meet some nifty people.

Ausie, Ausie, Ausie...

Carol

[Faithhb_lutheran]

Hi, Jeff,

I was going to register on your forum, but I was not willing to fill out the information which was asked. I have no idea when I was baptized, for example. My grandfather who was minister at our church at the time did it between 64-65 years ago.

The question about when were you saved is just plain intrusive even on a Christian website. It is nobody's business. That is between God and me. Besides that I have no idea. I would guess that many of your 300+ people who gave dates don't know either. I have met very few people in my life who knew the exact instant they were saved. For some people, it is a long process. For a fortunate few, they just know.

I am not certain why that information is necessary anyway. If I tell you I am a Christian, that should be enough. And I would think that you might want people who are not Christians to join in the discussion. How can a person be converted if he/she is not allowed in? Sinners need to be exposed to saints. How are they to learn there is another way? I think most church websites including ours scare away a non-believer. I am trying to figure out how to reach people who do not believe, but I have not come up with anything workable yet. I do not use the word, unchurched, because I think it has a demeaning sound to it...and when people use the word, they frequently mean it in a demeaning way. One meaning of the word, unchurched, is to be thrown out of a congregation.

I had trouble reading the letters too. How many of your people who have signed up regularly participate in the forum? I don't know how many have signed up here, but over time it seems that they get the help they need and vanish.

However, there is a core of people who hang in most of the time. It is kind of like any group or organization. There are a core of people who do the work. Everyone else benefits. Churches are notorious for that...at least ones that I am aware of over the years. It is to bad too. I am certain other people have much to contribute.

If I like a forum, I tend to hang in...even if I cannot contribute too much. I can always be a cheerleader...and the world needs cheerleaders!! I also read all of the posts that come in on all of the topics on this forum and one other. It is a wonderful way to learn...and to meet some nifty people.

Ausie, Ausie, Ausie...

Carol

Question: When were you saved?

Answer: ~2006 years ago by a guy on calvary.

[flutem3]

Question: When were you saved?

Answer: ~2006 years ago by a guy on calvary.

Kyle,

That is wonderful. I wish I had thought of that instead of rambling on like an ignoramus. :D

You are right, of course. I know the date...but not precisely. It is requested precisely....day, month, year. I was surprised.

I love your answer, Kyle. Bless you for reminding me of the obvious!!!

Carol
</IMG>

[David Gillaspey]

In my forum, the slants can be adjusted so its clearer. To tell the truth, I don't like the image verification either, but it was necessary to stop spambots. How did you make the image clearer? Are you using GD or ImageMagick?

I turned off image verification for now.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[Faithhb_lutheran]

Kyle,

That is wonderful. I wish I had thought of that instead of rambling on like an ignoramus. :D

You are right, of course. I know the date...but not precisely. It is requested precisely....day, month, year. I was surprised.

I love your answer, Kyle. Bless you for reminding me of the obvious!!!

Carol
</IMG>

When I'm good for nothing else, at least I can inject some good orthodox theology into the conversation.

[David Gillaspey]

I turned off image verification for now.... and two people joined overnight, both of whom have posted. Maybe that image verification really was a big barrier.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[jeffinj]

Hi, Jeff,
The question about when were you saved is just plain intrusive even on a Christian website. It is nobody's business. That is between God and me. Besides that I have no idea. I would guess that many of your 300+ people who gave dates don't know either. I have met very few people in my life who knew the exact instant they were saved. For some people, it is a long process. For a fortunate few, they just know.


Sorry about that Carol. But in my place the day when your born again is like your second birthday and people remember these dates or write them down somewhere. I was asking these info assuming everyone might be like this. I'll surely consider your suggestion.


David, I badly wanted to join this forum because I was so impressed with the work on the website and thats y inspite of some 5 or more image verification errors, i was still determined to join. :D

The latest version of vb gives clearer image with options in the control panel to change fonts or slant them ..... It also has a refresh link to refresh the image incase you cant read it. If you can update the forums, you might get all that. Im not sure of your version of vb. Anyway post this question in the vb forums and they'll help you.

Image verification is really good and I would suggest you keep it to stop the spam bots from registering. But if you have noticed an increase of newuser participation, then I guess its better without it.

I've got a lot of work for the next 3 weeks. :cool: Exam and some assignments!!

[flutem3]

"Sorry about that Carol. But in my place the day when your born again is like your second birthday and people remember these dates or write them down somewhere. I was asking these info assuming everyone might be like this. I'll surely consider your suggestion."

Hi, Jeff,

Since I wrote to you, I have talked to a number of people. Kyle's answer that we were save about 2006 years ago is the idea that the majority voice.

There was one person who knew the exact date he accepted Christ. As Kyle said...the salvation is there. It is up to us to say yes to it and accept it as our own. But for the people I have talked to as well as myself it is more of a struggle and a journey than just saying yes. It is easy to say yes. I said yes when I was a child. But it is difficult to live a decent Christian life.

Some place in Revelations it says that the devil is on earth. I believe that is true, and that is, perhaps, why in my life at least, being a decent Christian has been a struggle.

Carol

[jeffinj]

Thanks again Carol, your suggestions are great and I will consider it. :)

Ive been a bit busy again lately with my exams at uni rescheduled to nearer date. Sorry about the late reply.

God bless you all.

[StubbyD]

This business of wanting to know the day you accepted Christ is totally strange to me. Great if you know it but makes others (it did me for years) feel guilty that I couldn't pinpoint a specific.

Surely the only important factor is that one has accepted Christ?

Just my 2p.

[mickmel]

Back onto the main topic for a minute...

It also messes up page titles, which in turn messes up bookmarks. Rather than having a bookmark that says "Church Webmasters' Forum" or "Great Church Websites", it says "Forum Home Page".

David - I agree with your concern about the link at the top. However, I think the downsides outweigh it. Either way, it's a minor thing on a great site.

[David Gillaspey]

... which in turn messes up bookmarks.OK, that got my attention. I made some changes just now. Bookmark for the forum home page will now be labeled "The Church Webmasters' Forum".

But vBulletin is so complex, it took me 20 minutes to figure out how to make this simple change.

Thanks (all) for raising the issue!

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[mickmel]

Excellent - thanks!

Mickey

[Faithhb_lutheran]

Now i have to make a new bookmark